Citing the importance of the Colorado-Big Thompson project to the northeastern plains, and specifically Weld County, the Weld County Board of  Commissioners today approved a resolution recognizing Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District’s 75th anniversary.

    “The visionaries who proposed the massive irrigation project now known as the Colorado-Big Thompson project, men such as Weld County’s own Charles Hansen and W.D. Farr, literally created an oasis in the high desert,” said Commissioner Chairman Sean Conway. “It is because of that project Weld County is the top agriculturally producing county in the state and number eight in 
the nation.”
    Accepting the resolution on behalf of the Northern Water Conservancy District were: Mike Applegate, President of the Board of Directors; Kenton Brunner, County Board Member; Eric Wilkinson, General Manager; and Brian Werner, Public Information Officer.
    “The board is pleased to recognize Northern Water for all of their accomplishments during the past 75 years,” said Commissioner Douglas Rademacher. “The work they are doing now with regard to NISP (the Northern Integrated Supply Project) is as important to the future of agriculture in northern Colorado as the Colorado-Big Thompson project was in the 1930s and 40s.”
    Commissioner Barbara Kirkmeyer agreed. “Water storage is essential not only for northern Colorado agriculture but also for our municipalities all along the front range,” Kirkmeyer said. “The work Northern Water is doing with regard to NISP, is crucial for all Coloradoans.”
    In 1937, the Colorado Legislature enacted the Water Conservancy Act, which laid the groundwork for the formation of the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District. The original purpose of the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District was to provide supplemental irrigation water to northeastern Colorado farmers; today, the District also provides water to many Front Range municipalities including Fort Collins, Greeley, Loveland, Longmont, Boulder, Louisville, Lafayette and Broomfield.